Victoria's leading private schools say they are likely
to increase fees under a federal Labor government's schools funding
policy.

Many of the 32 Victorian schools that would lose funding
under Labor's $2.4 billion package also said the policy unfairly penalised
parents struggling to send their children to independent schools.

Under
the ALP's policy, 67 private schools across Australia would have funding
cuts of $520 million, with the money reallocated to 1500 "needy"
non-government schools.

But schools contacted by The Age yesterday -
including Melbourne Grammar, Brighton Grammar and Methodist Ladies College
- all signalled they may have to push up fees after being named on Labor's
"hit list".

Melbourne Grammar headmaster Paul Sheahan said the policy
would "without question" result in parents being forced to pay higher
fees, making the school more exclusive.

"The sentiment is right - I
believe there are schools that need money spent on them, but I just cannot
believe that their solution to the problem is simply to take it from
schools where they erroneously believe that all parents are wealthy," Mr
Sheahan said.

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He said the policy was a "reversion to the politics of
envy" and would "rob Peter to pay Paul".

Mentone Girls Grammar
principal Dr Jillian de Araugo said that rather than redistributing
funding, more money should be invested in all schools.

Ruyton Girls
School principal Carolyn Anderson agreed, saying parents from independent
schools would be feeling "let down" as there was no extra money for
independent schools.

Ms Anderson said Labor's policy was likely to
result in an increase in tuition fees or a reduction in services.

"The
reality is that the quantity of fees is tied to our total resources," she
said.

"The less government funding we get, the higher our fees will
have to be. And that's why our fees are so high, because we don't get much
government funding".

Korowa principal Christine Jenkins said she was
"very disappointed" with the policy.

Methodist Ladies College
principal Rosa Storelli said Labor's policy targeted and penalised
families who chose to send their children to an independent school. The
assumption that all MLC parents had the capacity to pay was a "gross
misrepresentation" of the school community, she said.

Head Master of Brighton Grammar School Michael Irwin.Picture:Craig Abraham

"They (Labor)
aren't taking into account the family sacrifices that a great number of
our community make," Ms Storelli said. "They may forgo a holiday, they may
work three jobs. Why should they be penalised for that?"

The
Association of Independent Schools of Victoria criticised the lack of
detail in Labor's policy, which it said would inevitably lead to fee
rises.

"Arbitrary cuts based on some 19th century view of class warfare
are not the way to produce a 21st century education system," association
chief executive Michelle Green said.

Ms Green said parents of students
in schools on the "hit list" would be feeling uncertain and angry that
their private efforts to pay fees were not recognised.

"They're
probably thinking: Will I have to pay more? Will the schools have to put
fees up? What's it mean for my bottom line, my family budget?" she
said.

But Australian Education Union president Pat Byrne said most
private schools had no reason to complain, with most still receiving an
increase in government funding.

BRIGHTON GRAMMAR FUNDING CUT

Brighton Grammar School headmaster Michael Urwin
was less than impressed when his school was named as one of the 32
Victorian private schools that would lose funding under
Labor.

"Just because a school charges high fees does not mean it
does not have families who are struggling in order to provide an
education for their son or daughter," he said. He described the
ALP's policy as unfair.

"I just find it bizarre that the ALP
would use fee levels as a means of determining funding," he
said.

"After all, parents choosing schools like Brighton Grammar
School are taxpayers . . . and they are contributing to the
education of other children.

"Every child deserves support from
government, and clearly that's not going to be the case under this
model."

Brighton Grammar has 1180 students, and annual fees -
which make up about 85 per cent of the school's income - are just
under $16,000 in year 12. Almost 11 per cent of the school's income
comes from Commonwealth funding, 3.15 per cent from state funding,
and just over 1 per cent from private investments.

But Mr Urwin
said Labor's policy could result in higher fees, a move he says
would make schools like his even more inaccessible to some
families.

"It just seems to me that the direction that the ALP
has taken relates to, dare I say, school bashing . . . rather than
determining funding on the basis of student need and family
need."

ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST FUNDING INCREASE

At the bottom of Albert Street in East
Melbourne is a 138-year-old building that houses St John the
Evangelist School.

It has 103 pupils. All are from families
where English is a second language, and most live in housing
commission flats in the neighbouring suburb of
Richmond.

Principal Philip Cachia said the school's
$240-a-year fee is possibly the lowest in the Melbourne
Catholic archdiocese. Even so, many parents struggle to
pay.

Mr Cachia said he was optimistic about Labor's funding
policy, announced yesterday by Opposition Leader Mark Latham,
under which needy Catholic schools such as his will receive
more money.

"Any lift would be appreciated," he said. "I
don't care if you're teaching at Brighton, Noble Park, or here
- Catholic schools are doing it incredibly tough at the
moment.

"We should get something, but I guess it all
depends on what they class as needy."

Mr Cachia said that
with extra government money, his school could offer more
subjects to students and update its facilities.

But he said
he did not agree with Labor's policy that some wealthier
schools should have their funding taken away for it to be
redistributed to poorer schools.

"If I sent my child to a
school and the government were to withdraw funding because
it's an elite private school, then that would actually up the
fees at that school and make it more difficult for parents.